Russian presidential envoy departs for Libya

06.06.2011 Mikhail Margelov, special envoy of Russian president left for Benghazi on June 6 to meet with Libyan opposition leaders.

"In Benghazi I'm going to meet with leaders of Libyan National Transitional Council [intermediate authority established by Gaddafi's opponents]", said Margelov to RIA Novosti.

He specified that he was about to meet with "Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Omar El-Hariri, and Mahmoud Jibril". Margelov added that the terms of his visit to Libya "depended on some technical issues related to warfare conditions".

It was reported on May 27 at G8 Summit in France that Russian president Dmitry Medvedev had decided to delegate the chairman of parliament's international affairs committee Mikhail Margelov to Benghazi. On June 2 Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin stated that Russia would try to get "safe corridor" for Margelov via NATO channels.

Generally commenting the situation in Libya, Margelov pointed out that "we cherish relations with Libya and Libyan people". "Russian president stands firmly for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Libya", emphasized the presidential envoy.

According to the MP, "the Arab world, Africa, and the whole global community need united and democratic Libya". He expressed hope that "Libyans are able to resolve their problems and choose their future by themselves".

Alongside with that, the presidential envoy added that "the long-drawn armed conflict aggravates humanitarian situation not only in Libya but in neighboring countries which have to accommodate Libyan refugees; all that invites dangerous destabilization in the region".

As for Margelov, during his visit to Libya he plans to talk with direct participants about possible ways out of the conflict and prevention of humanitarian disaster.

Protest actions started in Libya in mid-Feb; rioters demanded an ouster of national leader Muammar Gaddafi who had been governing the country for over 40 years. Later on, the demonstrations had grown into armed conflict between governmental forces and rebels. On March 17, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and allowing foreign military intervention. The operation started on March 19; then the command over Operation United Protector was handed over to NATO. On June 1 the operation was extended for 90 days (till late Sept).